The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Information in electronic form (e.g., digitally stored documents, images, and other digital data, etc.) is becoming more available, allowing more ways to collaborate on shared data. Historically, digital data has been shared among knowledge workers (e.g., office staffs, students, professors, attorneys, researchers, etc.) via emails and shared file repositories. As social networks are coming into widespread use, these knowledge workers have sought to incorporate this new medium into existing architecture for collaboration of shared data.
For example, U.S. patent publication 2012/0265808 to Ezell et al. entitled “Contextual Collaboration”, filed Apr. 15, 2011, discloses a system for allowing participants to contribute to an activity stream via multiple different medium (e.g., phone call, e-mails, etc.). Thus, when a first participant initiated an activity stream for collaboration on a project via a first media (e.g., a social network), a second participant can contribute to the activity stream via a second media (e.g., a text message).
U.S. patent publication 2013/0046822 to Noble et al. entitled “Method and System for Managing a Virtual Actionable Conversation”, filed Aug. 16, 2011, discloses a social activity stream application for managing virtual actionable conversations that allows participants in a conversation to request actions to be performed in various external systems. This way, conversation participants may use a single application to monitor and request actions in multiple external systems.
Many software companies such as Google®, Jive Software®, Yammer®, Chatter®, Central Desktop®, and Wrike® offer activity stream as a project collaboration and management tool.
Other efforts that have been made in this area include:                U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0103757 to Mitchell et al. entitled “Generation of Activity Stream from Server-side and Client-side data”, filed Oct. 19, 2011;        U.S. Pat. No. 8,543,665 issued to Ansari et al. entitled “Multi-Services Application Gateway and System Employing the Same”, filed Dec. 31, 2007;        U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0132385 to Bullotta et al. entitled “Method for Analyzing Time Series Activity Streams and Devices Thereof”, filed Nov. 15, 2012; and        U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0198290 to Thomas entitled “Real-Time Communication and Information Collaboration System”, filed Jul. 7, 2010.        
However, the above-mentioned publications require a proprietary active streaming system that allows only pre-identified participants to contribute to the project. Thus, there is still a need to provide an effective collaboration management system that leverage existing social networks.
These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value with a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims.